College Hotline » All-Bay Areahttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports
With Jon WilnerThu, 30 Jul 2015 15:23:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Cal, Stanford and SJSU football: The best and worst of the first halfhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/10/22/cal-stanford-and-sjsu-football-the-best-and-worst-of-the-first-half/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/10/22/cal-stanford-and-sjsu-football-the-best-and-worst-of-the-first-half/#commentsFri, 23 Oct 2009 03:01:45 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/?p=9934Continue Reading →]]>To be revisited in early December, naturally …

One general thought: It hasn’t been a very impressive showing by the locals.

Yes, Stanford and Cal both have winning records and both are probably headed to a bowl, although if Stanford loses to ASU on Saturday I might recant that.

But against FBS teams that currently have winning records, the Bears, Cardinal and Spartans are 1-9. (The lone win was by Cal, over mightily mediocre Minnesota.)

So the local ledger is not exactly stocked with quality victories.

Against winning FBS teams, the Bears are 1-2, the Cardinal is 0-3 and the Spartans are 0-4.

Against .500 or losing FBS teams, the Bears are 3-0, the Cardinal is 4-0 and the Spartans are 0-1

Best offensive player: TB Toby Gerhart, Stanford. Gave him the edge over Cal TB Jahvid Best because of consistency: Gerhart’s worst game was 82 yards, while Best was a complete non-factor vs. Oregon and USC. That’s not his fault; it’s entirely about the way defenses have played Cal and Cal’s spotty passing game. But it’s the reality.Also considered: Stanford QB Andrew Luck.

Best defensive player: Tyson Alualu, Cal. He’s non-stop motion, and most of the time it’s chaos-causing motion. Tied for third on the team in tackles (27) and has 4.5 sacks. No other defensive player in the area has performed with such sustained excellence.Also considered: Stanford DE Tom Keiser and Cal CB Syd’Quan Thompson.

Best coach: Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh. And to be honest, it’s somewhat by default. Harbaugh has the program on the uptick overall and has done a fine job in ’09 — but not an extraordinary one. The Cardinal hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record, and two of its four wins are over 1-5 teams (WSU and SJSU). But Cal’s Jeff Tedford got outscored 72-6 in his biggest games and SJS is woeful under Dick Tomey.

Best performance, team:Cal 45, UCLA 26. The Bears rolled up 494 yards on a solid defense. And unlike Stanford, which beat UCLA by eight on The Farm, Cal thrashed the Bruins in Pasadena. (As noted in the introduction, there wasn’t much in the way of selection.)

Worst performance, team: Oregon 42, Cal 3 The worst showing of the Tedford era, totally inept in every phase.Also considered: Nothing. This was the obvious choice.

Best performance, individual: Jahvid Best vs. Minnesota. He scored five touchdowns, a modern-era school record and the highest total in the Pac-10 this season, and rushed for 131 yards.Also considered: Andrew Luck vs. Arizona, Toby Gerhart vs. Washington, Kevin Riley vs. Maryland.

Best play: Best’s 93-yard run vs. UCLA. No other running back in the nation can do this.

Best game: Arizona 43, Stanford 38. It was fun, thrilling and meaningful — and one of only two games played by Bay Area teams that was decided by less than a touchdown. (SJS-Idaho was the other.)

Biggest surprise: Stanford’s offensive line. Even with three first-time starters, two redshirt freshmen (David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin) and a new position coach, the front has been more than solid. The Cardinal is second in the Pac-10 in rushing and second in (fewest) sacks allowed.

Biggest disappointment: San Jose State’s defense. You figured the Spartans would have a tough time replacing three draft picks, but they have underachieved. More than anything, the unit lacks the toughness you’d expect from a Dick Tomey defense.

G Patty Mills, St. Mary’s: When he locks in and turns it on, there’s nobody better.G Jerome Randle, Cal: Most impressive aspect of his season might be his consistency — he’s had very few bad games.G Patrick Christopher, Cal: Already won the Pac-10 Player of the Week award twice. Ranks just behind Mills as the most gifted player in the area.F Diamon Simpson, St. Mary’s: In 19 games, he has nine double doubles.C John Bryant, Santa Clara: Posting huge numbers (17.4 ppg, 12.1 rpg) despite being constantly double- and triple-teammed (and having an inexperienced supporting cast).

Second team

G Anthony Goods, Stanford: Struggled at times during league play but was highly effective in Nov/Dec.F Theo Robertson, Cal: His defense and perimeter shooting have been first rate. Would be a lock as the Bay Area’s comeback player of the year.F Lawrence Hill, Stanford: Approaching his ’07 form but still needs to be more assertive.F Dior Lowhorn, USF: Doing as much as one player can do (19.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), but that’s not nearly enough.C Omar Samhan, St. Mary’s: Thought hard about Samhan for a slot on the first team but thought Bryant and Simpson deserved it more.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2009/01/26/the-hotlines-midseason-bay-area-awards-and-all-area-team/feed/0My 2008 All-Bay Area football team: Best, Gerhart, Thompson and Gilbert lead the wayhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2008/12/16/my-2008-all-bay-area-football-team-best-gerhart-thompson-and-gilbert-lead-the-way/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2008/12/16/my-2008-all-bay-area-football-team-best-gerhart-thompson-and-gilbert-lead-the-way/#commentsTue, 16 Dec 2008 19:15:48 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/?p=4065Continue Reading →]]>I know, I know. Stanford and San Jose State have been done for almost a month. But I purposefully waited on the all-area team until Cal closed out its regular season Dec. 6. Which means: Yes, I probably should have gotten this posted late last week. Oh, well.

There are a few changes from my midseason all-Bay Area team, especially at quarterback, but on the whole the team is basically what it was in the middle of October.

And it was fairly easy to select once I took a liberty or two: In order to get the most deserving players on the team, I tweaked the personnel at a few positions — none of the moves unreasonable, in my mind.

Offensive Player of the Year: Cal TB Jahvid Best. Gave him the edge over Stanford’s Toby Gerhart based on his performance down the stretch, which included 236 all-pupose yards and three touchdowns in Big Game and 847 yards (or whatever it was) against Washington.

Defensive Player of the Year: SJSU DT Jarron Gilbert. He had 22 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks as a tackle. A first-day NFL draft pick and one of the best defensive tackles to come through the area this decade.

Freshman of the Year: Stanford DE Tom Keiser. Had six sacks despite playing part time. Reminds me a bit of ex-Cal star Ryan Riddle.

Newcomer of the Year: Cal WR Verran Tucker. JC transfer who missed the first three games and didn’t find his groove until Arizona (Oct. 18) but still finished with 20 receptions.

***Offense

QB: Cal’s Kevin Riley. The best of a substandard group. Was 7-2 as a starter and threw 14 TDs against 6 INTs. Should never have lost his starting job in the first place.RB: Cal’s Jahvid Best. A game-breaker of the first order. Averaged 8.0 yards per carry and 183.5 all-purpose yards per game.RB: Stanford’s Toby Gerhart. Nobody in the area was more valuable to his team than Gerhart was to Stanford. He punished defenses and carried the Cardinal (15 TDs, 95 ypg).WR: Cal’s Verran Tucker. Averaged 14.4 ypc and gets the edge over teammate Nyan Boateng, who had a bevy of drops early in the season.WR: SJSU’s David Richmond. Had 72 catches (31 more than anyone else in the area) for an offense that was highly flawed.TE: Cal’s Cameron JordanMorrah. Led all Bay Area pass catchers with 8 touchdowns. Imagine what his numbers could be with an elite QB.OT: Stanford’s Ben Muth. Big part of Stanford’s rugged ground game and a first-team all-league pick.OG: Cal’s Noris Malele. Played through injury the way tough-as-granite seniors are supposed to play through injury.C: Cal’s Alex Mack: If not the best center in area history, he’s in the conversation.OG: Stanford’s Alex Fletcher. Clearly one of the top-five OL but plays the same position as Mack, so I moved him. (Fletcher started every game at guard in ’07.)OT: Stanford’s Chris Marinelli. Finished at guard but played the first half of the season at tackle. Deserved a spot and I needed an OT.

*** Defense

(Note: I included four linebackers because the position was loaded and because one of the teams plays with four LBs as its base defense.)

DE: SJSU’s Carl Ihenacho. Had 18.5 tackles-for-loss despite playing the last month with a cast on his thumb.DE: Stanford’s Erik Lorig. Cardinal was so deep on the DL, it was tough for anyone to stand out. But Lorig was probably the best of the bunch.DT: SJSU’s Jarron Gilbert. Spent as much time in the backfield as opposing quarterbacks. Unblockable in one-on-one situations.DT: Cal’s Tyson Alualu. Flush with deserving ends and needing a tackle, I moved Alualu. (Also considered: Cal’s Cameron Jordan.)LB: Cal’s Zack Follett. Took advantage of Cal’s 3-4 to become an edge-rusher extraordinaire (19 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks). A close second to Gilbert for defensive POY.LB: SJSU’s Justin Cole. 240 pounds of havoc.LB: Stanford’s Pat Maynor. Was Stanford’s defensive MVP, and I’m not sure anyone was close.LB: Cal’s Worrell Williams. After an underachieving ’07, he made an impact on the field and in the lockerroom.CB: Cal’s Syd’Quan Thompson. Dominated play from the corner, which ain’t easy.CB: SJSU’s Chris Owens. Slightly better season than CB-mate Coye Francies; they formed the area’s best tandem.S: Stanford’s Bo McNally. Solid year at the weakest defensive position.S: SJSU’s Duke Ihenacho. Even better than 5 INTs, he had 2 Pick Sixes.

*** Special Teams

P: Cal’s Bryan Anger. It only seemed like every punt went for 70 yards.PK: Stanford’s Aaron Zagory. Was 10-of-11 from inside 40, which is what you want from possessions that end in/near the red zone.KOR: SJSU’s Brandon Rutley. Thought about Best for this spot but Rutley returned twice as many kicks and only averaged 2 fewer yards.PR: Cal’s Syd’Quan Thompson. No contest.ST: Stanford’s Wopamo Osaisai. With his speed, Stanford essentially had 12 players on coverage.